what does fam mean

what does fam mean

About

Fam, short for “family,” is a slang term which is typically used between friends as a term of endearment. Online, it is associated with various memes popularized through Black Twitter, including Check Out My Mixtape and The Barber.

Origin

The exact origin of the slang use of “fam” is unknown. While some have cited black communities in the United States as the original creators of the term, others claim it originated within the United Kingdom. On November 6th, 2003, Urban Dictionary user Chris submitted an entry for “fam,” defining it as “someone you consider family” (shown below). Over the next 13 years, the submission gained over 7,000 upvotes.

Spread

In October 2008, the question “What does ‘fam’ mean in English slang?” was submitted to Yahoo Answers!. On October 8th, 2014, the /r/BlackPeopleTwitter subreddit was launched. Which restricts the usage of the words ”bruh”, “fam” or “similar vernacular” in posts “just to sound black.”
On December 11th, the @WorldStarFunny Twitter feed posted a photograph of a man with a circular haircut blended into his facial hair with the caption “he sat in the barber’s chair and just said ‘fuck my whole life up fam’” (shown below). In nine months, the tweets gathered over 7,100 retweets and many likes.